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Yoga for a Healthy Mind and Body

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Frequently Asked Questions

With an eGift, you can instantly send a Great Course to a friend or loved one via email. It's simple:
1. Find the course you would like to eGift.
2. Under "Choose a Format", click on Video Download or Audio Download.
3. Click 'Send e-Gift'
4. Fill out the details on the next page. You will need to the email address of your friend or family member.
5. Proceed with the checkout process as usual.

Q: Why do I need to specify the email of the recipient?

A:
We will send that person an email to notify them of your gift. If they are already a customer, they will be able to add the gift to their My Digital Library and mobile apps. If they are not yet a customer, we will help them set up a new account so they can enjoy their course in their My Digital Library or via our free mobile apps.

Q: How will my friend or family member know they have a gift?

A:
They will receive an email from The Great Courses notifying them of your eGift. The email will direct them to TheGreatCourses.com. If they are already a customer, they will be able to add the gift to their My Digital Library and mobile apps. If they are not yet a customer, we will help them set up a new account so they can enjoy their course in their My Digital Library or via our free mobile apps.

Q: What if my friend or family member does not receive the email?

A:
If the email notification is missing, first check your Spam folder. Depending on your email provider, it may have mistakenly been flagged as spam. If it is not found, please email customer service at (customerservice@thegreatcourses.com) or call 1-800-832-2412 for assistance.

Q: How will I know they have received my eGift?

A:
When the recipient clicks on their email and redeems their eGift, you will automatically receive an email notification.

Q: What if I do not receive the notification that the eGift has been redeemed?

A:
If the email notification is missing, first check your Spam folder. Depending on your email provider, it may have mistakenly been flagged as spam. If it is not found, please email customer service at (customerservice@thegreatcourses.com) or call customer service at 1-800-832-2412 for assistance.

Q: I don't want to send downloads. How do I gift DVDs or CDs?

A:
eGifting only covers digital products. To purchase a DVD or CD version of a course and mail it to a friend, please call customer service at 1-800-832-2412 for assistance.

Q: Oops! The recipient already owns the course I gifted. What now?

A:
Great minds think alike! We can exchange the eGifted course for another course of equal value. Please call customer service at 1-800-832-2412 for assistance.

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A:
Yes, you can. Go to My Account to change your email address.

Q: Can I select a date in the future to send my eGift?

A:
Sorry, this feature is not available yet. We are working on adding it in the future.

Q: What if the email associated with eGift is not for my regular Great Course account?

A:
Please please email customer service at (customerservice@thegreatcourses.com) or call our customer service team at 1-800-832-2412 for assistance. They have the ability to update the email address so you can put in your correct account.

Q: When purchasing a gift for someone, why do I have to create an account?

A:
This is done for two reasons. One is so you can track the purchase of the order in your ‘order history’ section as well as being able to let our customer service team track your purchase and the person who received it if the need arises.

Q: Can I return or Exchange a gift after I purchase it?

A:
Because the gift is sent immediately, it cannot be returned or exchanged by the person giving the gift. The recipient can exchange the gift for another course of equal or lesser value, or pay the difference on a more expensive item

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Course Overview

Nearly all of us would like less stress in our lives, a better ability to focus, improved health, and a fitness routine that we truly enjoy. You may be surprised to learn that yoga provides all of these benefits with a system of exercises that can be adapted to any age or level of fitness.

Today, millions of people practice yoga, from young to old, from the hyper-athletic to those dealing with chronic diseases. Based on extensive studies, yoga is recognized as one of the most effective activities for achieving a healthy mind and body.

While the roots of yoga go back thousands of years, yoga is a relatively new phenomenon in the West, where it has blossomed into a multitude of different styles, each addressing a specific set of issues. For example, yoga routines have been optimized for these goals, among others:

Calming: A practice called yin yoga gently stretches the body’s connective tissues in poses held for several minutes at a time. It is ideal for meditation.

Cardiovascular fitness: Power yoga is a vigorous workout, coordinated with attentive breathing that leaves you feeling both vibrant and centered.

Pain relief: Yoga exercises focused on breathing, stretching, and relaxing can relieve chronic pain in the lower back, arthritic joints, and other areas of the body.

Mental healing: Forrest yoga is one of several yoga practices that help resolve addictive behavior, eating disorders, negative thought patterns, and other self-destructive habits.

Yoga’s many poses and exercises make it endlessly interesting and emotionally rich, giving you a wealth of options for designing a practice that fits your needs. Isn’t it time to get started—not just learning about yoga but doing it?

Yoga for a Healthy Mind and Body is the ideal way to take that first step with a course that makes yoga accessible and the poses doable. These 12 half-hour lectures with acclaimed yoga teacher Dr. Heidi Sormaz will also deepen the knowledge of those already experienced in yoga. No other yoga video program offers such a comprehensive presentation of both the science and practice of the discipline.

Discover Yoga’s Many Benefits

After covering the history of yoga and its physiological effects, Dr. Sormaz takes you through a diverse set of routines, introducing the basics of hatha yoga along with the more specialized practices of Iyengar yoga, power yoga, yin yoga, Anusara yoga, and Forrest yoga. You don’t just learn how to do the poses; you learn how conscious breathing and a focus on mindfulness can open the door to yoga’s many benefits that go beyond improved physical health.

Dr. Sormaz has a Ph.D. in Psychology from Yale University and is an expert on the emotional obstacles that can be addressed by the powerful meditative component of yoga. In Yoga for a Healthy Mind and Body, you practice simple routines that make you feel and move better, and you also learn how yoga can help resolve chronic pain, insomnia, depression, anxiety, and cravings and compulsions.

A typical yoga session incorporates a wide range of intriguingly-named poses, such as warrior 1 and 2, cat/cow, side angle, mountain, and downward facing dog. Dr. Sormaz demonstrates how these and many other revitalizing exercises are the building blocks of a yoga routine that can be tailored specifically to your needs.

If you are a person who thinks, “I’m not flexible enough to do yoga,” then that’s exactly why you should try this course. Dr. Sormaz shows that there is a practice that will work for you and start you on your road to a healthier mind and body.

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12 lectures

| Average 30 minutes each

1

Western Yoga

Explore the roots of hatha yoga, the form of yoga widely practiced in the West. Focus on the three principles of hatha yoga—breath exercises, physical postures (called asanas), and meditation—which promote a healthy mind and body. Get started with some simple yoga exercises. x

2

Yoga Begins with the Breath

The tension we accumulate every day tightens the muscles in the upper body, making it hard to breathe. Practice a mini yoga class that highlights mindful breathing to relieve this stress. Then add three new asanas to your yoga routine: warrior 2, bound angle, and downward facing dog.
x

3

Yoga and Pain Relief

Consider some key tools used in yoga to address physical pain: attention to breath and sensation, release of chronic muscle contractions, and healthier movement patterns. Practice asanas for each of these pain reduction techniques—including a chest opener, yoga pushup, plank, and staff pose.
x

4

Yoga for a Healthy Heart

Yoga can lead to a healthier heart by providing a transition from a more sedentary lifestyle to a more active one. Trace the steps that will help you gradually build your yoga practice. Learn two new breathing exercises together with asanas that include warrior 1, knee-to-chest, and bridge.
x

5

Yoga and Addictive Behavior

Discover how yoga and attention to the body’s sensations can aid in breaking the vicious cycle of addictive behaviors. Perform patterned breathing, side bends, cat/cow, downward dog, lunges, forward fold, and reclined twist. End with savasana, the traditional closing posture in a yoga practice.
x

6

Yoga for Depression and Anxiety

Examine how mindful, moving yoga can help interrupt the physical and psychological habits that lead to depression. Focus on sun salutations, a series of movements and poses linked by one breath per move. Perform the classic sun salutation, and then Surya namaskar A and B.
x

7

Iyengar Yoga

In the first of five lectures on different styles of yoga, experience a beginner sequence of Iyengar yoga. Named for pioneer yoga teacher B. K. S. Iyengar, this practice makes extensive use of props. Practice nine essential asanas, with optional props such as a wall, chair, strap, and blocks.
x

8

Power Yoga

Transition to a more aerobic form of yoga—power vinyasa—in which a sequence of poses is strung together at an energetic pace. This is the form of yoga taught in many health clubs and gyms. Try a challenging flow, modifying the poses where appropriate for your level of fitness. x

9

Yin Yoga

Yin yoga is a complementary practice to a yang form, such as power yoga. The goal is very simple: Assume a shape with your body, relax with gravity, and rest in stillness. Unwind with yin poses that gently stretch your connective tissues, including tendons, ligaments, and fascia.
x

10

Anusara Yoga

Explore the spiritual dimension of yoga through an Anusara practice, which combines the Iyengar system of alignment with elements of Hindu spirituality. After a Sanskrit invocation, follow a sequence of asanas that emphasizes awareness of energy flow and muscle action in your body.
x

11

Forrest Yoga

Developed by American yoga teacher Ana Forrest, Forrest yoga is known for helping people deal with emotional issues, trauma, and addiction by creating a calm and untroubled internal state. Discover a new way of tuning into your feelings, using many techniques and postures you have already learned.
x

12

Everyday Yoga

Draw on the poses and routines presented in the course to develop a personalized yoga routine that will work for you in the everyday realities of 21st-century life. Keep sight of three principles: Breathe deliberately, move in non-habitual ways, and pursue mindful awareness.
x

Lecture Titles

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What's Included

What Does Each Format Include?

Video Download Includes:

Download 12 video lectures to your computer or mobile app

Downloadable PDF of the course guidebook

FREE video streaming of the course from our website and mobile apps

DVD Includes:

12 lectures on 2 DVDs

80-page printed course guidebook

Downloadable PDF of the course guidebook

FREE video streaming of the course from our website and mobile apps

What Does The Course Guidebook Include?

Course Guidebook Details:

80-page course synopsis

Photos & illustrations

Suggested readings

Practices

Enjoy This Course On-the-Go with Our Mobile Apps!*

iPhone + iPad

Android Devices

Kindle Fire Tablet + Firephone

*Courses can be streamed from anywhere you
have an internet connection. Standard carrier data rates may apply in areas that do not have wifi connections
pursuant to your carrier contract.

Your professor

About Your Professor

Heidi Sormaz, Ph.D.

Certified Yoga Instructor

Dr. Heidi E. Sormaz is the founder, owner, and director of Fresh Yoga LLC in New Haven, Connecticut. She earned her M.S. and Ph.D. in Psychology from Yale University and was a postdoctoral fellow at Yale and the University of California, Berkeley. She taught psychology at Yale, San Francisco State University, and Albertus Magnus College. Dr. Sormaz obtained the highest teaching credentials from both Forrest Yoga and Yoga...

Reviews

Yoga for a Healthy Mind and Body is rated
4.6 out of
5 by
107.

Rated 5 out of
5 by
lovesyoga from
Yoga for a Healthy Mind and BodyI bought this a few weeks ago and am enjoying it very much. The instructor Heidi Sormaz is delivers the lectures in an easy to understand manner.

Date published: 2019-04-20

Rated 5 out of
5 by
moe54 from
healthy mind and bodyI did bought one month ago and was a great one. I love it, great lectures , I keep looking at their web side almost daily. recommended very highly

Date published: 2019-04-15

Rated 5 out of
5 by
jmond from
This is a great course with an excellent instructor. I wish I had ordered it earlier.

Date published: 2019-03-28

Rated 3 out of
5 by
easy 72 from
beginners course?i have only made it thru 7 lectures so far and it seems to be very easy and relaxing. instructor is very good at explaining the pose you are going to do and does it slowly so you have time to follow along correctly. hoping the other lectures will show many more poses.

Date published: 2019-01-11

Rated 5 out of
5 by
Leoda from
I Love This Course!I have taken a few yoga courses, but I feel that I am getting so much more from this course because I am learning the ways to make yoga work for me - for my posture, my breathing and for helping to relieve stress. Really beginning at the beginning - learning the history of yoga, plus some of the different types. And I like the way she explains the poses - learning the why, as well as the how. Just perfect for me - money well spent!

Date published: 2018-12-09

Rated 5 out of
5 by
Bev17 from
Love the detailed explanations of why yoga worksI've done yoga for years, but this is the first course or class that has really stressed the importance of breath-work, and then given very clear instructions on what to do. Also, the individual classes on slouching, being heart-healthy, etc. are relevant to today's world. If solutions to specific problems are what you are looking for, this is the class for you.

Date published: 2018-12-03

Rated 5 out of
5 by
JWT57 from
Yoga for a Healthy Mind and Body is terrific!Heidi Sormaz is a terrific teacher and professor. Her easy manner and knowledge of yoga makes practicing yoga fun and interesting, which I never thought yoga could be.
It is a great alternative for those of us who are tired of the thoughtless physical stress, of the endorphin driven gym environment and want to add a more thoughtful approach to maintaining a healthy body and mind.

Date published: 2018-10-18

Rated 5 out of
5 by
Cubby from
This is the BESTI have practiced Yoga for many years, and had many great teachers. I have learned several different forms of Yoga. This was great! She expanded my knowledge of these different forms. She had lots of good practices I can incorporate into my classes and pass the knowledge to them.
I was impressed that, just like in real life, she even had a guest presenter. He really added to the course, too.
One lesson had a real challenging routine to do. She made it look so easy!